CFA Award

At an annual awards event in Washington, D.C. June 16, 2004, the Consumer Federation of America presented the Esther Peterson Consumer Service Award to the National Consumer Law Center of Boston, MA, and to Rosemary Shahan, President of CARS. This prestigious award is widely recognized as the top award in the consumer movement.

Other award recipients were New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (Philip Hart Public Service Award), United States Representative Charles Rangel (Philip Hart Public Service Award) and David Fanning, Senior Producer of PBS' Frontline (Betty Furness Consumer Media Award).

The Consumer Federation of America stated in its brochure about the awards event:

Rosemary Shahan is [one of the] nation's leading advocates for vehicle safety and fair treatment of consumers at car dealerships. As President of California-based CARS, and founder of Motor Voters, Rosemary has invested twenty-five years of passion, hard work, and advocacy in making an immeasurable difference in safety and consumer rights and protections. She initiated California’s auto ‘lemon law’ to make manufacturers stand behind defective vehicles, leading to similar laws in all fifty states.

Her campaign for airbags covered all fronts, including lobbying Lee Iacocca to switch from opposing to supporting air bags. Her picket of one manufacturer for its low-ranked safety record led to a safety recall. Rosemary has been in the thick of fights ranging from stopping gag orders in lemon law case settlements, a media campaign to press for recall of “firebomb” pickups, exposure of “lemon laundering” of defective autos to unsuspecting used car buyers, and stopping a Senate attempt to preempt state auto salvage fraud laws.

Her most recent campaign is to win a Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights in California. As a consumer advocate who has single-handedly tackled widespread consumer abuses and frequently stopped them, Rosemary is especially deserving of the Esther Peterson Consumer Service Award.

The Consumer Federation of America, founded in 1968, is a national non-profit federation of more than 260 organizations from throughout the nation with a combined membership exceeding 50 million people. Rosemary has been elected to a third three-year term on the Board of Directors of CFA, where she has served as co-chair of CFA’s Committee on Housing and Transportation for over a decade.

C.A.R.S. Mission

CARS is a national, award-winning,
non-profit auto safety and consumer
advocacy organization working to
save lives, prevent injuries, and
protect consumers from
auto-related fraud and abuse.

NEVER trust that a dealer will have the safety recall repairs performed before selling you a car that is being recalled. Dealers are so eager to make a buck, fast, they are unwilling to delay sales long enough to get the safety recall repairs done -- for FREE.

Plus -- dealers are actively opposing legislation in Washington, DC and in California that would prohibit them from renting, selling, leasing, or loaning unsafe, recalled vehicles to consumers, unless the safety recall repairs have been performed first.

CARS’ tips on how to buy a safe, reliable used car — without having to risk going to a dealer:

Did a dealer sell you an unsafe, recalled car? We want to hear your story. Contact CARS

Buyer Beware! Auto dealers' one-
sided contracts can ruin your life

Even if the dealer breaks the law, you might not be able to get justice. Forced
arbitration clauses hidden in the fine print can keep you tied up for years. The dealer even
gets to pick the arbitrator who hears your case. Here's what happened to a car buyer in San Diego:

Think this is outrageous? Call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121, and urge them
to vote for the Arbitration Fairness Act. More about the AFA, now pending before Congress:http://www.fairarbitrationnow.org